M&M

     To celebrate me being done with exams, I went out to eat with my wife and son.  I was telling them about my dad's first full day in the hospital.  I whipped out my (brother's) iphone and showed them a couple of pictures.
     "They have these little construction paper circles called M&M.  It stands for "moving" and "motivation".  When you leave your room to exercise, you punch it into a time stamp kinda like a factory worker.  You then clock back in and tape the construction paper to your room door.  Once you earn enough, you trade the circles in for a banner.  It's a way of showing the doc how much you've been exercising because they want you moving as much as possible.  Here's your papa's door after the first day."

And here's the door next to him.  Obviously, they've been at it a bit longer.

     My son, ever the teenager smart ass chuckles and replies, "Sounds like kindergarten."
     "Yeah, it does.  But when you're fighting for your life, you do what you gotta do."

     My dad said it feels like he's in kindergarten, too.  But everytime we leave the room, he makes sure we grab one of those M&Ms to tape to the door.  My dad is more resolved, more resolute, more determined than I've seen him in a long, long time.  All the fear, apprehension and uncertainties are still there.  But beneath it all is still a determination and will that is growing.  It's a joy to see.